FanFic100: #091 Birthday
Who would’ve thought what just a little innocent comment could set in motion. Only a few nights ago she’d had one of many random conversations with Major Lorne during the graveyard shift when he’d been CO of the Control Room and she’d been on the standing security detail - the last few weeks they had found themselves in these positions quite often, and a kind of lose comradeship had developed. And for some reason they’d started to play a game that has become quite common among the population of Atlantis on that particular night: ‘What do you miss most from home?’ He’d made some non-committing answer of “some decent food”, but she couldn’t hold back blurting out, “My baby.”
The look on his face - and that of the rest of the Control Room crew, come to think of it - had been… priceless. She couldn’t resist a dramatic pause before clearing the confusion up with saying, “The Suzuki Bandit 600 I own. Had to put her in storage back in Springs, because there’s simply no way of giving her what she needs here.”
“And what does ‘she’ need?” one of the techs had mumbled, making her smirk.
“Lots of road. And someone riding her the right way, of course.” At that, several male members of the Control Room crew - including Major Lorne, if only for a short moment - had had sudden coughing fits and become very interested in their screens or at least had a hard time keeping a straight face. Okay, so… yeah, she’d said that deliberately, knowing full well how cliché that sounded, but she just loves seeing these guys get embarrassed.
“Lieutenant Cadman a speed freak… why am I not surprised?” Major Lorne had mumbled and she’d had to resist sticking out her tongue. Speed freak… such a mundane word for what connects her with her bike. Or rather, what she connects with the bike. But yeah… speed is part of that.
She’d given Lorne a smirk and replied, “What, disappointed that some clichés are actually true, sir?” At that point, the Control Room had grown pretty quiet and everyone seemed to wait for the Major’s answer. Somehow, they had turned into that night’s main entertainment.
“No, just trying to understand what exactly you’re missing about the Suzuki.” If they’d been alone… maybe she’d have answered him openly and in detail, because she could hear that was he genuinely interested, but with the whole Control Room listening in? No.
So all she’d said was, “Everything.” Unfortunately, she couldn’t prevent that some of her real longing showed through. To cover it up, she’d added, “Actually… you flyboys don’t know how lucky you are. At least you get your share of speed on a regular basis.” All he’d done was give her a meaningful grin, a kind of apologetic shrug and an almost suggestive raise of his eyebrows. After that, the conversation had strayed to other topics and she’d nearly forgotten about it.
Until… well, until a week later when he’d knocked on her door, asked if she had a few hours of spare time and signaled the Daedalus to beam them up when she’d nodded a little confused. And now he’s standing in front of her in the Daedalus’ locker room, holding a helmet and a packet that looks suspiciously like a flight suit. “Alright, gear up, Lieutenant.” Resolutely, he puts the helmet and the flight suit into her hands.
She still has no idea what this is about, so the only thing she does is sputter, “Uh… sir?”
“Just gear up. Meet me on the flight deck in ten minutes.” With that, he leaves the locker room, a look on his face that says very clearly that she shouldn’t mess with him and simply do as he tells her. So she does the good little Marine act and gives her best to put on the flight gear correctly, adjusting everything in the way she thinks it has to be.
She even manages to make it in under eight minutes, which earns her an appreciative little smile from him. “Reporting as ordered, sir,” she says, but there’s a little playful undertone to it, because now she’s starting to get an idea what this is about.
“Almost as ordered, Lieutenant. Hope you don’t mind…” he reaches out to readjust a few straps and finally to fully close the zipper, “there you are. Good to go. Come on.” He signals her to follow him and after passing a few curious flight mechanics and pilots, they come to stand beside one of the F-302s. Suddenly, some of his usual quiet self-assuredness disappears and he even has to clear his throat before speaking up again. “Granted, it’s no Suzuki, but… how about some share of speed?”
She looks at the big piece of steel and glass again. Before she knows it, she had reached out and touched the tip of one of the wings. She realizes she’s never been this close to one of Earth’s most prestigious fighters. A little awed, she lets her hand wander over the wing’s surface. It’s really just cold steel and circuits and bolts, but… it’s also the epitome of power and… well… kind of sexy. She turns back to the Major, careful not to let the giddiness welling up inside of her show. “You’re right, it’s no Suzuki. But I think I could give it a chance.”
“Give it a chance, huh?” He doesn’t look amused. She tries looking sheepish, and he grins a little reluctantly. “Okay, come on. We don’t have time until all eternity.” With that, he shoos her to the cockpit, telling her exactly where to sit and where to put what. Then comes a short introduction on safety protocols and the strict caution not to touch anything. The last thing he does is give her a short slap on the back of her helmet and she’s a little surprised to see that he’s actually excited at the prospect of flying. Huh… who would have thought.
After a seeming eternity of take off procedures, he maneuvers the slightly bulky fighter out of the hangar bay, into the wide open space above Atlantis, and for a moment she feels her heart missing a beat. She tries to tell herself that it’s all anticipation, but if she’s honest… as she realizes that there’s really only some glass and steel separating her from the deadly vacuum of space, she feels her throat constrict with… not fear, but apprehension.
As he accelerates the speed, her adrenalin levels climb and the giddiness threatens to turn into full out ardor. Only her absolute resolve not to make a fool out of herself keeps her from giggling and shouting. “Alright, Cadman… ready for some real action?” Argh. Couldn’t he have just kept quiet? Now she has to answer… forgetting that he can hear just about everything, she takes a deep breath to calm herself down.
“Sure, sir. Bring it on.” Wow, that sounded almost as cool as she would have liked it to.
Unfortunately, he must have heard that as well, as the corresponding grin translates into his voice. “Just remember that this isn’t exactly picking wildflowers.” What the…? A zoomie is implying that she doesn’t have the balls to endure some flying tricks? Huh.
“I do bombs for a living, sir. I think I can handle some ups and downs.” That makes him chuckle… and it’s a nice sound.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Well then… Rock’n’Roll.” She wants to comment on that, but the sudden lurch forward presses her into her seat and the barrel roll he puts the fighter into takes away her breath. She wants to force herself to keep her eyes open, but the spinning stars make her dizzy and so she closes them. It’s not exactly helping, but at least she can fight the rising nausea. She was never one with a queasy stomach, neither on ships nor on airplanes and she will surely not become sick in a space fighter. Right?
“Everything okay, Lieutenant?” Of course, Mr. Zoomie, she wants to snap, but the real worry in his voice makes her reconsider. She takes a few steadying breaths and the underlying sickness subsides again.
“Yeah. Thanks for your concern, though.”
“Good.” Wait… is that an evil grin she can hear there? What is he…? Before she can answer, he turns the fighter into a corkscrew spin and immediately after that does a few loops and she really can’t decide between feeling absolutely miserable and totally exhilarated. She desperately needs do to something to distract her from the spinning.
Hoping it’s safe to talk, she tries very hard to keep her voice level and casual, as she asks, “By the way, sir… how the hell did you get permission to get a jarhead into a zoomie fighter?”
“Called in a few favors,” is all he says, but it’s all it takes to give her the surprise of the year. It startles her enough to make her forget the queasy stomach and simply let her enjoy the feel of the vibrating naquadah engines and the sheer power this things holds. As he dives into another spin, she can’t hold back a delighted squeal and it earns her a laugh… maybe the first real one she ever heard from him in all the time she’s been serving alongside him.
She still wants to keep up a minimum of her dignity, but abandons that thought as soon as he starts a little zig-zag flight. In between the slightly silly giggles she manages to say, “Is there a reason so many people on the Daedalus owe you something, sir?”
“Is there a reason you are so nosy, Lieutenant?” Ah, someone doesn’t want to tell her how many favors he had to call in… which automatically brings her to the question as to… why he went to all this trouble. As if he heard her thoughts, he breaks hard left and gives her something else to think about than what made him take her up here in the first place.
“And here I thought my file said everything about me.” He chuckles again. She’s starting to like that sound. What she doesn’t like, though, is that he is right on collision course with the Daedalus, and at full speed. The ship is coming nearer at an impossible rate and just as she’s about to really question this guy’s sanity, he breaks off and pulls the F-302’s nose up. She’s a little annoyed at all the relief that floods her and can’t hold back murmuring, “Showoff.”
“I heard that, Lieutenant. Okay… what do you think? Did it make up for missing the Suzuki?” Well, did it? Granted, it was fast. Maybe she didn’t get to feel the wind and didn’t get to be the one in control - because that’s what she likes most about her baby: When she’s riding her, she and she alone is fully in control - but the Major’s flying was exciting enough to give her that special kick she’s been missing for quite some time now.
But there’s no chance in hell she’ll tell him, because she thinks his ego got already enough to feed on today. “Mh… yeah. A bit.”
“My, aren’t we easy to please.” If she’d sat across from him, she’d have to hold herself back, but since she sits behind him, she actually makes a face and sticks her tongue out. “I’m your CO, Cadman, I have eyes in the back of my head.” Oops. “Anyway… I think that’s it for today. Can’t use up all my favors.” Not that she’d asked him to use up even one of them… but she decides to keep quiet on that, because she doesn’t want to spoil the easy banter between them.
Without further delay, he steers the fighter back into the hangar and executes a very smooth landing, most probably textbook. He gets out of the cockpit with the grace and easiness of a guy who’s done this whole thing countless times before, and she really gives her best to appear totally unfazed, but her stupid legs betray her and she has to lean against the ladder for a moment when she is finally back on the flight deck. For a moment it looks like Major Lorne is going to ask her again if she’s okay - this time she can also see his face, and is surprised that she does detect the worry there she just heard earlier - but then he seems to remember that this isn’t the kind of question you should ask a Marine all too often. Once a week really suffices.
After a moment she feels safe enough to step away from the ladder and walk up beside him. “Admit it, you did all of that just to see famous Laura Cadman lose her cool.”
The laugh she receives at that is hearty and loud enough to turn a few heads even on the other side of the flight deck. His face looks at least five years younger and the dimples she only got in very faint versions until now are fully showing. “Yeah,” he says between smaller laughs, “absolutely. You have uncovered my cunning plan. You really are pretty clever.” Dramatic pause, and she almost knows what’ll come now. “For a Marine, I mean.” Maybe it’s his open glee, maybe it’s the aftereffects of the flying still messing with her head… but she finds herself lightly hitting his arm. For a moment she’s afraid she went too far, because the slightly offended look on his face says so, but then a mischievous grin shines through and he adds, “But you hit like a girl.”
Something in her face must have been scary enough that he actually starts running to the locker rooms, but she will not be outdone by a zoomie. Grinning like mad she starts after him, only marginally wondering what people are thinking at the sight of two Atlantis officers in flight gear chasing each other to the locker rooms. Probably that there has to be a reason why only very special people are chosen for the Atlantis Expedition.
Later, after they have both changed back and he got them beamed back in front of her quarters, she’s a little reluctant to let him go just yet because she has finally decided that she likes this side of him, even though she has seen it for the first time ever, at least to this degree. And she’s not sure if she’s imagining it, but… it seems like he doesn’t want to leave so fast, either. Trying to look casual with his hands in his pockets he’s standing before her, at first not really sure what to say. Then, “So, what did we learn today, Lieutenant?”
She leans against the wall beside the door that leads to her quarters and grins. “You’re an evil genius, sir?”
A small, positively wicked grin passes over his face and she finds herself shocked at finding it… well… sexy as hell. “I was thinking more along the lines of… jarheads may be good at doing it in the dirt, but zoomies are good at doing it in space.” Good… God. He didn’t just… “Close your mouth, Cadman. No idea where your mind went, but I meant fighting.” She really, really wishes she had a comeback for that, but even after this day, it totally takes her aback and she can just stare at him a little shocked. And then… he goes in for the kill. Putting his hand beside her head to the wall, he leans in very slightly and just says with his voice a little lower, “By the way… happy birthday, Lieutenant.”
With that, he leaves, only turning around once again to give her a slightly uncertain little smile and then walking away a little faster, as if he just realized what he said and is afraid of her reaction. But as it is… she isn’t quite sure what her reaction is. The only thing she knows is… she isn’t half as appalled as she should be. In fact… she’s not appalled at all. Just not quite sure what to do about this… all of this. Then again… wait. There’s already an idea forming in her head.
~*~
TBC in Spreading Out Her Wings Tonight.